


Virgil & Hypothermia & Cabin

by StrongerWithThePack



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29702640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrongerWithThePack/pseuds/StrongerWithThePack
Summary: Virgil and John and a skiing trip. What could go wrong?Prompt from the Whump Generator on Tumblr.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Virgil & Hypothermia & Cabin

**Virgil & Hypothermia & Cabin**

Virgil feels numb all over as he's dragged back to consciousness. It's like he's waking up from a drug-induced sleep except there's far too much pain for that to be true. The too-bright light behind his closed eyes is making his head throb and he groans pitifully.

There's definitely something wrong so with great protest he blinks his eyes open and all he's sees is blinding white for a few seconds before his eyes adjust. Snow. Everywhere. There are trees above him and the snow is still gently falling.

He looks down at himself and he's half submerged in the snow…in his island clothes. It's then the pain makes it's way through the numbness and he shivers violently, disrupting the snow that had fallen on him.

He starts gasping as he forces his uncooperative arms to push him into a sitting position. His clothes are soaked through and he's sitting in the snow in the middle of nowhere. His breaths puff out, visible in the frigid air and he uses a near-by tree to pull himself up to his feet. His legs tremble dangerously and he has to blink black spots out of his vision.

 _Dammit._ Virgil thinks to himself. _What the hell happened?_

Virgil wracks his brain and parts start to come back to him. He'd been skiing with John. They both had a long weekend of leave. That didn't explain why he was now freezing his butt off in the middle of nowhere though. He reached for his watch only to find his wrist bare. That can't be right, he never takes it off.

If he doesn't start moving things are going to end very badly. He scans the area around him. The snow has mostly covered up any tracks of how he'd gotten here but the snow directly in front of him is much more uneven than behind him to he guessed that was his best bet.

Letting go of the tree that was semi-supporting him he stumbled forwards. It was like the cold had seeped into his bones and every step sent a stab of pain into his joints. His wet jeans rubbed uncomfortably against his frozen skin.

The dizziness was becoming a problem as he followed the path of uneven snow, grabbing a hold of each passing tree to keep himself grounded. God knows how long he'd already been out here.

The snow was getting heavier and he had to squint his eyes. _There!_ Up ahead, a cabin stood out against the backdrop of snow. It definitely wasn't the ski village but he's about 2 minutes away from passing out in the snow again so it looked like his best option. John would be looking for him by now.

The cabin looked less inviting up close. Rotting wood and broken windows weren't going to offer much protection but he didn't have a choice at this point. The door opened with a creak and he had to grip the doorframe to stop himself from falling straight through.

His heart sank as he peered around and saw only one table and some rickety chairs, the rest of the cabin was bare. He took a shaky breath. It would keep him out of the snow. John would find him soon.

As much as he wanted collapse right there his training wouldn't let him rest. He paced back and forth around the room trying to keep his blood flowing. It became more of a shuffle as time passed and Virgil barely even comprehended the fact that he was moving as he dragged his feet across the ground.

_Just keep moving. Keep moving. Keep moving._

His thoughts were muddled but he managed to keep up his slow shuffle far longer than he should have been able to. Eventually his legs gave out and his knees hit the wooden floor with a crack.

He placed his trembling arms out in front of his and knelt, breathing heavily. He wasn't getting back up again. He managed to crawl over to the corner of the room and prop himself up against the wall. He pulled himself into a tight ball and placed his hands under his armpits.

 _Come on John. Where are you?_ He thought.

And then he drifted.

*

John was frantic. Virgil had stepped out this morning to get some more wood for the fire in their cabin. It was only a few meters from the front-door but he hadn't come back in again. It was their last day here, they'd been planning on going up the ski slopes one more time before they left. Virgil wouldn't have left without telling him.

They'd had a nice trip so far, the two of them were definitely the more relaxed members of the family. Last time they'd gone skiing as a family he and Virgil had either been dragged along with Scott and Gordon to do extreme off-piste skiing or they were frantically worrying about Alan trying to copy his more daring older brothers. They'd had a much more relaxing holiday this time around.

Well until Virgil decided to go missing that is.

He tried calling through their watches with no response so after an hour and still no Virgil he'd tracked his brother's whereabouts. The location pinged in the resort café. If Virgil had spent an hour ignoring him just to get his morning coffee, John was not going to be happy.

He pulled on his boots and waterproofs, walking across the resort to said café, ready to give his brother an earful. His chest tightened when he arrived and there was still no sign of him. Their watch locations were extremely precise, and John zeroed in on a group of guys being rowdy in the corner. He clenched his fists. The guys from the bar last night.

He stalked over, worry for his brother overshadowing his reluctance to approach them.

They saw him coming and turned to look at him as he approached.

"I believe you have something that belongs to my brother." John gritted out.

The table erupted in laughter and one of the guys sneered. "That prick make it down the mountain already? We should've left him further up boys."

"Mountain?" John questioned angrily. "Where the hell is my brother?"

"That's a no then." The guy smirked. "Half-way up the Balgay mountain, exact location isn't coming to me."

John was done with these guys, he just need one thing to find his brother. He held out his hand. "Give me the watch."

John's tone must have been verging on dangerous because it was tossed his way without argument. "Things worthless crap anyway."

He ran out of the café as the guys laughed again. He and EOS would deal with them later. Harshly. Right now, he needed to find his brother.

He activated his own watch as he ran back to the cabin. "Come in Tracy Island."

"Tracy Island at your service." Gordon's voice came across the comm. "What can I do for you holiday goers?"

"Gordon! Virgil's in trouble." John panted out as he ran. "I don't have all the details, but he might be hurt I don't know."

"What do you need me to do?" Gordon asked, entirely in professional mode now.

"Have Thunderbird Two on standby, I'll keep you posted."

Tracking Virgil's past movements led him to where his brother must have been left. He came to a halt on his rented snowmobile and noticed the disturbed snow. He quickly followed the tracks, maybe his brother had made it down already and was fine. The track ended at a derelict cabin and John had a sinking feeling.

The door banged off the wall as he slammed it open. "Virgil?"

And then he saw his brother. Slumped and unconscious against the far wall. "Virgil!"

"Going to need that pick-up Gordon." He relayed to his brother. "And hurry."

John didn't wait for a reply as he kneeled down next to his brother and gently shook his shoulder. "Hey Virg. You okay?"

His brothers head lolled at the movement, not reacting to the touch. The plaid shirt was damp under John's hand. He shakily pressed his fingers into Virgil neck and breathed a sigh of relief at the faint pulse he felt there. His skin was like ice while his cheeks and nose were red and irritated. Frostbite.

John was going to kill those guys.

Thunderbird Two was still at least 20 minutes out. He needed to do what he could.

He started to peel off his brother's wet shirt, gently talking to him as his did so. "Hey Virg, you're okay now. We'll get you warmed up in no time." He soothed as he pulled the shirt down his unconscious brothers arms. "I'm just going to get these wet clothes off of you."

He awkwardly manoeuvred his brother out of his vest as well before wrapping his own coat around Virgil's shoulders, hoping it still held some of his body heat. As he pulled it close his brother's eyes fluttered open to half-mast.

"Jo'n?" Virgil mumbled.

"Hey, I'm here. You okay?"

Virgil just blinked slowly and puffed out a few heavy breaths.

"Hey, hey that's okay." John soothed as he rubbed up and down his brothers arms. "Just stay awake okay? Your girl is on her way, we'll be home soon."

Virgil hummed and his eyes drifted shut again.

John gripped his brothers chin muttering. "Come on bro, I said no sleeping." Virgil's eyes squinted open. "Just focus on me okay?"

Virgil held his gaze in affirmative. "Okay. Just stay awake, and I'll tell you all about what I'm going to do to the guys who left you up here, okay?"

Virgil continued to stare at him with slightly glazed eyes which he hoped was a good sign. His brother was far too unresponsive though, Gordon better hurry.

"Okay bro, I may even get creative just for you."

So just settled in and talked to his brother. He was never one for small talk but if it kept his brother awake he would ramble for as long as needed. He'd let Gordon take over soon.

For now, he just talked and waited.

_fin._


End file.
